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ISTIC and Thomson Reuters Host International University Research Summit to Promote Scientometrics in China
Beijing, CHINA — June 25, 2010 — The Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC) and Thomson Reuters will jointly host an International University Research Evaluation Summit and Scientometrics Research Workshop in Beijing today, with the objective of promoting international exchange and best practices in research performance evaluation and research excellence.
Organised by the ISTIC-Thomson Reuters Joint Lab for Scientometrics Research, the summit and workshop are designed to promote greater exchange between China’s higher education administrators and academic community and their international counterparts on best practices and issues in the application of quantitative methodology in research performance evaluation, such as those used in global university rankings.
Established in 1956, ISTIC is China’s national research institution of scientific and technical information, which provides critical and important information to support the Ministry of Science & Technology’s national strategy and decision-making for developing science and technology in China.
There are 350 university administrators, research directors and librarians attending the summit and workshop. The summit was officially opened by Mr. Zheng Guoan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Science & Technology of China and Mr. Mike Boswood, CEO of the Healthcare & Science business of Thomson Reuters. The panel of speakers includes Mr. Wu Yishan, Chief Engineer of ISTIC; Professor Liu Niancai, Dean of Graduate School of Education, Shanghai Jiaotong University; Phil Baty, deputy editor of Times Higher Education; Dr. Jonathan Adams, director of research evaluation, Thomson Reuters; and Professor Jiang Guohua, Senior Scientometrician. Professor Liu and Mr Baty will be presenting an overview and methodology of the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings respectively.
Among the main topics to be presented and discussed are the history, methodology and influence of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, scientific evaluation methodologies and empirical research on massive data analysis, scientometrics development in China and its impact on research evaluation and university ranking, and evidence-based assessment of research performance. Dr. Adams will also be discussing the Thomson Reuters Global Institutional Profiles Project and its significance for research administrators.
Said Mr. Wu Yishan, Chief Engineer of ISTIC, “China is investing and building its innovation capabilities. Chinese universities are a dynamic force contributing to this development due to the training of talents and innovative research and development projects that they do and provision of innovative services to the public. As the Chinese government emphasizes “accountability” as never before, the performance evaluation of Chinese universities, which are still primarily funded by the government, is absolutely necessary. ISTIC has always embraced the idea of “supporting decision making with factual databases and quantitative techniques”, and we are very satisfied with our collaboration with Thomson Reuters in scientometric studies so far.”
“Supporting scientific discovery and innovation with our data integrity, and promoting best practices in research evaluation have always been part of our strong commitment to the local academic and research communities we engage with,” said Dr. David Liu, managing director of China, Healthcare & Science business of Thomson Reuters.
The ISTIC-Thomson Reuters Joint Lab for Scientometrics Research also announced the eight research directions that would guide the application criteria for its 2010 joint lab funding scheme. Details would be made known in due course so that interested applicants can apply for the funding.
1. Research evaluation based on highly cited papers
2. Using Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators (ESI) co-citation analysis to investigate research fronts on the basis of Chinese Science & Technology papers
3. Research on evaluating contribution of individual papers
4. Research on relationship of papers and patents
5. Scientometrics indicator research
6. International collaboration analysis based on co-authorships
7. Application of visualization in research evaluation study
8. Research areas and trend analysis of “China’s Key Technologies R&D Program”
The ISTIC-Thomson Reuters Joint Lab for Scientometrics Research was established in December 2008 to promote and accelerate the development of China’s scientometrics research and applications, and to foster and strengthen China’s academic exchange with the international scientometrics community. Both the theoretical research and applied study in the field of scientometrics are conducted in the joint lab. The jointly funded laboratory provides a platform for China’s scientometrics research community to enhance scholarly communication and research collaboration, and provide them with a wealth of scientific literature resources and data analysis tools.
About the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC)
Established in October 1956, ISTIC is China’s Ministry of Science and Technology’s public information technology and research institute primarily responsible for providing the ministry and public institutes with critical decision-making support and comprehensive scientific research information and services. ISTIC strongly believes in the importance of international cooperation and has actively participated in UNESCO's Information for All Program (IFAP), the International Federation of Information Documents (FIO) and other international organizations. ISTIC has also established strong business cooperation with research information agencies in the United States, Canada and Japan, and over 30 countries and regions. For more information, visit http://www.istic.ac.cn.
About Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs 55,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com
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